The First Snowfall Frame

        This printable stationary illustrates a frame of rocks, forest and a mountain cabin nestled in the snow. Write the first paragraph in a special letter for your loved ones this new year.

       So few people send precious handwritten letters anymore. Letters may be read over and over and make wonderful additions to family albums and scrapbooks. 

       Old letters, photos and cards are frequently kept tucked away among many people's most valuable possessions. I have letters that belonged to my grandparents that have become the only tangible pieces of their lives left to me now. 

       Take the time to write your loved ones this year and leave a thoughtful voice from their past that he or she can read them quietly, time and time again.

The winter cabin stationary.

Christmas Trees at "The People's House"

       The story of the White House is the story of America. In its rooms and gardens and ceremonial spaces can be read the development of the nation, from the founding of Washington in 1791 to its sacking by the British in 1814, through the Civil War, two world wars, the Great Depression, and many other foreign and domestic crises. Within its walls Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his “Fireside Chats.” Its gleaming façade has provided a symbolic backdrop for suffragettes, freedom riders and anti-war protesters; on its sloping south lawn children gather for Easter egg rolls and to watch the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. In good times and bad, the White House is "America's House," the most potent symbol of the nation's democratic ideals. It is the only home of a head of state regularly open free to the public, offering ordinary citizens a glimpse of how their leaders live and work.

"In the late 1700s, it was decided that our country needed a capital city. Many people felt that it
should be located in New York; others thought it should be in Philadelphia. Our first President,
George Washington, finally picked the site - on the Potomac River, midway between the northern
and southern states. It would come to be called Washington, District of Columbia."
All photos here are available at Wikipedia under the Creative Commons.

       Probably the best known Christmas trees are the ones lighted annually by the President of the United States at appropriate cere- monies in Washington, D.C. This Christmas Eve program was first begun in 1923 when a fir tree shipped from Vermont was set up on the steps of the Capitol. In 1924, a 35-foot living Norway spruce provided by a New York nursery under the supervision of the American Forestry Association, was planted in the square south of the Treasury, near the White House. This tree was dedicated to the Nation as a National Living Christmas Tree. Later it was replaced with another living tree of like size and species. In 1934, the ceremonies centered around a living Norway spruce in Lafayette Park north of the White House. From 1941 to 1953 the National Christmas Tree was one of two oriental spruces thriving on the south lawn of the White House. By coincidence, 9 of the first 12 cut trees supplied by various States were also spruces. 

       Beginning in 1954, various States have supplied the National Christmas Tree, which is set up on the Ellipse between the White House and the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The President of the United States, at a prearranged ceremony, presses the button to turn on its lights.The States are also represented by 50 smaller trees, all set up on both sides of a promenade leading to the big tree.

• Every Year, The White House posts it's Christmas Decorations

The library decorated for Christmas. Many U.S. presidents have delivered speeches from this room.

"Over the years, the Green Room has served as a card room, as a sitting room, and, recently, as a 
parlor for small teas, receptions, and meetings. The walls were covered with green silk during
Thomas Jefferson's Presidency."

"James Hoban designed the blue room as an oval at the request of President Washington. Today,
it is used as a reception room for foreign dignitaries. During the holiday season, the chandelier
is removed, and the White House Christmas tree stands in the middle of the room."

Ornaments made by Americans everywhere were hung on the Blue Room's tree in 1975.

During many Christmas holidays, gingerbread is crafted by the official pastry chef.

A tree decorated in the colors of the American flag at the White
House.

Christmas tree in the Blue Room in 2016.

"In good times and bad, the White House is "America's House," the most potent symbol of the nation's
democratic ideals. It is the only home of a head of state regularly open free to the public, offering
ordinary citizens a glimpse of how their leaders live and work. Instead of a remote architectural 
monument, it is a living symbol of government's accessibility, to the extent that we routinely 
speak of it as having moods, attitudes and distinguishing features. The White House is said
to possess ''dignity" and "stature," to appear "concerned" or "jubilant," to have a voice
that "declares," "defends" or offers "no comment."

Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot Christmas Tree Controversy

       By 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt was the President of the United States, there was a tremendous amount of alarm among naturalists and conservationists regarding the indiscriminate cutting of evergreens for Christmas trees. When the press asked Roosevelt if he was going to continue with the traditional White House Christmas tree he responded with a resounding "no". He believed that the rate at which trees were being cut for Christmas would destroy what was left of America's forests. 

      However, his sons Archie and Quentin didn't agree with their father and secretly smuggled a tree into a closet in Archie's room. When Roosevelt found out about the tree on Christmas day he was embarrassed. After lecturing the boys he sent them to see his friend and cabinet member, Gifford Pinchot (who later became the first Chief of the Forest Service). To Roosevelt's surprise Pinchot told the boys that cutting a Christmas tree, if done right, was actually good for the forest. Pinchot believed it was forest fires and not Christmas tree cutters that were the real threat. 

      After that Roosevelt continued with the official policy of no Presidential tree - but secretly allowed Archie to put up a small tree in his own room. 

"The Importance of Trees" 

(At the turn of the 20th century, there had been massive deforestation. It was for this reason the national forest reserves were established in 1891 and later became national forests in 1905. Today, at the turn of the 21st century, we now have too many trees. Research indicates that prior to European settlement, ponderosa pine forests had an average of 40-50 trees per acre. Today these same forests have 400-500 trees per acre. The excessive build-up is largely a result of fire suppression and the cause for large catastrophic wildfires).

• Getting Christmas Dinner On a Ranch by Theodore Roosevelt

How to Identify Trees By Their Needles and Twigs

Scotch Pine cones, needles, branches.

       It is not easy for the layman to tell one evergreen from another in normal Christmas tree sizes, because small trees often do not have cones (or "berries" in the case of junipers), which help to identify them. The bark also is not usually fully developed. However, the "needles" (leaves) and their arrangement on the twig, plus the buds, are often enough. Following are brief descriptions of 17 of the more common Christmas trees. Emphasis here is placed on needle identification. 

       If the leaves are scalelike, the tree could well be a red cedar or a white-cedar. If the leaves are needlelike and in clusters of two, three, or five, it is a pine. If the leaves are not in clusters, that is, if they are attached singly along the twig or branch, the tree could be either a fir or spruce. If the twigs are roughened by hard peglike leaf-bases, if the cones hang down, and if the leaves are stiff, are sharp pointed on their ends, and are not flat, it could well be a spruce. On the other hand, if the twigs are smooth and show oval scars where old leaves fell off, and if the leaves are flat, the tree probably is one of the firs. 

Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris), with enough open space, grows into a shapely tree (as do other evergreens grown under similar conditions) and so is very popular and brings a good price to growers. It Scotch pine. (About one-third natural size)responds nicely to pruning and shearing and thus can be made bushy, which is very desirable. Like nearly all pines, it is fast growing and has needles considerably longer than those of Balsam fir, Douglas-fir, and Spruce. Scotch pine needles are in clusters of two, blue green in color, usually twisted, and from 11/2 to 3 inches long. Cones are not common on trees of Christmas tree size. When found, they are yellow brown, 112 to 212 inches long, turned back on the branch, with minute prickles on the cone scales. 

Douglas Fir, cone, needles
 and branches.

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga men-ziesii, formerly Ps. taxifolia) has needles that are short stalked, soft and pliable, 34 to 114 inches long, dark yellow green or blue green. The needles are attached all around the twig instead of in the flat featherlike arrangement of balsam fir. The buds are reddish brown, narrowed at the tip and sharp-pointed, differing from the rounded blunt buds of true firs. If a Douglas-fir of Christmas tree size has cones, identification is easy, for they hang down, with long, 3-toothed, leaflike bracts sticking out conspicuously beyond the tips of the thin, rounded cone scales. The cones are light brown, from 2 to 4 inches long. The bark is dark or reddish brown. 

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea), has short needles-1/2 to 114 inches long-flat, dark green, and usually rounded at the tips. The needles are arranged feather-like on grayish, finely hairy twigs. The twigs resemble crosses; that is, the tiny twigs grow at approximate right angles to the branches. The bud tips are rounded and coated with a waxy pitch. Cones, when present, are attached up- right to the branch, and are 2 to 3 inches long, purple, often resinous. The bracts leaflike appendages between the cone scales are usually hidden. The balsam fir bark is gray or brown, thin, smoothish, often with many resin blisters. 

Balsam Fir, needles, cones and branches.

Most of the small (table-size) artificially colored Christmas trees seen on the markets at Christmas time are black spruce (Picea mariana), which have been painted. They come mostly from the swampy areas of northern Minnesota. The stiff, crowded, somewhat curved needles are 4- angled, short-1/4 to 5/8 inch long, and pale blue green. The twigs are hairy, and the cones small-34 to 114 inches long, dull gray brown, with rounded, stiff, slightly toothed scales. The bark is grayish brown and thin. are 

Immature cones of the Black Spruce, young needles.

Juniper or Eastern Red Cedar berries and branches.

Needle and cones of the Red Norway Pine

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is easy to recognize. Like its western cousins, the junipers, it has scalelike leaves and the fruit is berrylike. The scalelike leaves are only 1/16 inch long, dark blue green, but the leading shoots bear needlelike leaves up to 3% inch long. The leafy twigs are rounded or 4-angled, and slender. "Berries," if present, are dark blue and 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter. The bark is reddish brown, thin, fibrous, and shreddy. 

Red or Norway pine (Pinus resinosa) has slender needles, dark green, 5 to 6 inches long, and two to the cluster. Cones are about 2 inches long, light brown, without prickles. The bark is red- dish brown. It is a native of the Lake States, New York, northern New England and northern Pennsylvania, and is widely cultivated. there in plantations. Older trees are valuable for wood products and ornamentals. 

White Spruce cones and branches.

White spruce (Picea glauca) has incurved, sharp-tipped, blue-green needles, 4-angled, 1/2 to 1 inch long. When crushed in the fingers, the needles produce a disagreeable odor. The twigs are hairless. The cones are slender-112 to 2 inches long, pale brown, and shiny. Cone scales are thin, flexible, and rounded, with a smooth margin. The bark is gray or reddish brown and thin. This tree's natural range is slightly north of that of red pine. 

White (or concolor) fir (Abies concolor) grows into a very desirable Christmas tree. Since it is native to the West and does not do well in eastern climates, its use is confined largely to the western  U.S. Its needles are flattened, ir- regularly arranged, mostly curv- ing or spreading upward and out- ward, 11½ to 21½ inches long, and pale blue green. Cones on small trees are not common. They grow upright on the branch, 3 to 5 inches long, greenish, purple, or yellow. The bark is gray and smoothish. (In the trade, the name white fir is often used also for grand fir.) 

The Eastern and western white pines (Pinus strobus and Pinus monticola, respectively) are very much alike and can be grown into very desirable Christmas trees with proper management. needles of both are soft to the touch, dark blue green in color, with five needles to the cluster. The needles of the eastern white pine are very slender and flexible, 212 to 5 inches long, and the cones are long stalked, 4 to 8 inches long, yellow brown, with thin rounded. scales. The needles of the western F-19409-A white pine are stout, 2 to 4 inches long, and the cones are much like eastern white pine except 5 to 10 inches in length. The bark of both species is grayish green to dark green, thin and smooth on young trees. 

White Fir Trees in the mountains.

Eastern White Pine cone and it's needles.

Norway spruce tree, branches, needles and cones.

Norway spruce (Picea abies) was introduced from Europe so long ago that it has had time to reproduce itself through several generations. Its needles are 4- angled, dark green, and about 3/% to 1 inch long. The cones are 4 to 6 inches long and light brown, with thin, slightly pointed, irregu- larly toothed scales. The bark is reddish brown. 

Virginia pine needles and cone.

Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) is common in several eastern states, from New Jersey to northern Alabama. Usually it is inexpensive. Since the needles give off a pleasing odor, many people prefer it for indoor use. Its needles are two in a cluster, stout, twisted, 112 to 3 inches long, and grayish or yellowish green. The twigs are purplish. Cones are sometimes seen on young trees. They are about 2 inches long, red- dish brown, shiny, and very prickly. The bark is dark red- dish brown, thin, and scaly. 

Southern pines include five species-longleaf, slash, loblolly, pitch, and shortleaf. They grow in the Southeastern States and are largely local-trade Christmas trees. The needles are much longer than those of the firs and spruces, and mostly in clusters of three. 

Longleaf Southern Pine cones and needles.

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) has needles that are slender and very long-10 to 15 inches, dark green, and three to the cluster. lts cones are large-5 to 8 inches long, dull brown, and prickly. Its bark is dark orange brown. 

Southern Slash Pine Cones.

The needles of slash pine (Pinus elliottii-formerly called P. caribaea) are stout, 8 to 12 inches long, dark green, mostly three in a cluster, though two in a cluster is not uncommon. Its cones are 3 to 6 inches long, shiny brown, with minute prickles. The bark is purplish brown. 

The loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) has slender needles that are long-6 to 9 inches-pale green, and three in a cluster. Its cones are 3 to 5 inches long, reddish brown with stiff, sharp prickles. The bark is reddish brown. 

The needles of pitch pine (Pinus rigida), are stiff, 3 to 6 inches long, dark yellow green, and three in a cluster. The cones are short and broad-12 to 3 inches long, light brown, shiny, with small prickles. The cones often remain on the branches several years after opening. 

The shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) has the largest natural growing range of all the southern pines. Its needles are two and three to the cluster, slender, dark blue green, 22 to 5 inches long. The cones are small, 112 to 21/2 inches long, dull brown, with small prickles. The bark is reddish brown. 

Loblolly Pine cones resting in a dry bed of their own needles.

Pitch Pine Cones and Needles.

Short leaf pine seedlings show branch and needle type.

Red spruce (Picea rubens) Christmas trees can be easily confused with black spruce and white spruce, both previously mentioned. All are northeastern species. Red spruce needles are 4- angled, dark green and shiny, and about 1/2 inch long. The twigs are rather stout and more or less hairy. Cones, if present, are 114 to 11½ inches long, light reddish brown, and shiny, the stiff scales with rounded edges smooth or slightly toothed. The bark is reddish brown, thin, and irregularly scaly.

Red Spruce branches and short needles with tiny cones.

Picture guide to needles and twigs of Christmas trees.

Six Desirable Features of a Live Christmas Tree

       Practically all species of evergreens are being used for Christmas trees, though some command better market prices than others. There is no one best all-around Christmas tree species for all areas. People in some areas of the country still show a preference for certain species, but regional preferences are less significant than formerly. Desirable characteristics of a live tree are: 

1. Retention of needles from the time of cutting through the Christmas holidays. 
2. Full, bushy symmetrical shape. 
3. Limb strength adequate to support ornaments and electric lights. 
4. Sufficient attractive non-prickly foliage with a healthy green color.
5. Fragrant odor. 
6. Springy branches that can be tied compactly for shipment without breaking, and regain their shape when released.

Advise for choosing a live Christmas tree by

 Wildwood Outdoor Living Centre.

The Favorite Living Fir Tree

Boy decorating a live Christmas tree. photo credit John Morgan

       The fir is most commonly mentioned in accounts of the evolution of the Christmas tree. One reason may be that the balsam fir twigs, more than any other evergreen twigs, resemble crosses. Also, fir trees were abundant in the forest areas of western Germany where the custom apparently originated, as well as in New England and New York State here in the U.S. Then too, the word "fir" was widely used to designate several different kinds of cone-bearing trees long before botanical classification became standardized and well known. Even today most people are unable to identify various evergreens, frequently calling all of them "firs" or "pines." 

       Extracts from the fir, especially balsam fir, were long used for medicinal purposes probably further reason for its early popularity. Certainly the perfume of the balsam fir is one of its out-standing features. 

       A number of legends, poems, songs, and stories are based on the fir tree. "The Fir Tree" is one of the tales of the famous Danish writer of children's stories, Hans Christian Andersen. And a popular old German folk festival song, "O Tannenbaum," offers a hymn of praise to the fir tree, still favored today 

       At any rate, if the fir tree, did actually predominate as the early Christmas tree, then our forefathers selected wisely, for the fir is still one of the favorites of today. In this country for many years firs, spruces, and cedars were the common Christmas trees, with balsam fir the unchallenged leader until 1955. The somewhat similar favorite from the West, Douglas-fir, overtook balsam fir in the U.S. about that time. 

       And since then, the public taste has been shifting more to artificial trees, real firs and pines together account for about 20 percent of the U.S. Christmas trees used in American homes. The artificial copies of these tree types make up about eighty percent of trees displayed.

       Scotch pines and Douglas firs and Fraser firs are the three favorite living trees sold in the United States. These three trees make up seventy percent of all living Christmas trees sold in this country today.

Pre-Christian Era Celebrations With Trees

       Some scholars trace the origin of Christmas trees to much earlier periods. Even before the Christian era, trees and boughs were widely used for religious ceremonials. Ancient Egyptians, in celebrating the winter solstice-shortest day of the year-brought green date palms into their homes. They were symbols of "life triumphant over death," just as the sun starts its annual "triumph over darkness" or "rebirth" at this time. 

Ancient temple of saturn, columns stand in the midst of
rubble in the forum Rumanum, Rome.

       When the Romans observed the feast of saturn, also at the winter solstice to celebrate the return or "rebirth" of the sun, part of the ceremony was the raising of an evergreen bough. This feast, and the New Year which followed a few days after, featured eating, drinking, merry-making, expressions of goodwill, exchange of gifts, and decorating houses with greenery and lights. Church leaders in Rome replaced the feast of saturn by Christmas on December 25 in A.D. 354 after Christianity became the accepted religion in the Roman Empire. (The name saturn survives in our Saturday.) 

       The early Scandinavians or Norsemen are said to have offered homage to the fir tree. When they became Christians, Christians, they made evergreen trees part of their Christian festivals. The burning of fir boughs and the Yule log in late fall were old folk customs in western Europe. 

       To the Druids or Celts of ancient Gaul (today's France) and Britain, sprigs of evergreens (particularly mistletoe and holly) in the house meant eternal life, while to the Norsemen such sprigs symbolized the revival of the sun god, balder. The superstitious of these lands long believed that branches of evergreens placed over the door of their homes would keep out witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and the like. 

       So we see that our Christmas tree custom has evolved from pre-Christian as well as Christian traditions, like the present-day use of greenery in various religious rituals. In America the decorated Christmas tree has become such an accepted tradition that Christmas would seem barren to most people without it. 

• How December 25th Became Christmas
• Christmas Isn't Pagan
• Why do we Celebrate Christmas on December 25th?